Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

October Garden Tasks

Garden Tasks for Zones 7-8 In The PNW October is a pivotal month in the gardens for me. In zones 7 and 8 in the Pacific Northwest, we still get warm days in October, but the nights are cool. So while it might hit into the mid 60's on some days, it's only that warm… Continue reading October Garden Tasks

Freeze Drying · Homesteading · Prepping · Preserving

Freeze-Drying The Sweet Side Of Cakes And Bread

This was a fun adventure with our Harvest Right freeze-dryer. I made up 2 chocolate cakes, 2 gluten-free pumpkin breads, and 1 of my favorite sugar-free cheesecake to freeze-dry. We run on a Large size unit, with 5 trays. With the cake and bread I replaced all the oil with unsweetened applesauce, to keep the… Continue reading Freeze-Drying The Sweet Side Of Cakes And Bread

Homesteading · Recipes

Oatmeal Bread

This Fall I am back to making bread, but I have also decided I need to use our bread machine less, and work on my handmade bread skills. The bread machine I can always use on the really busy days when we need a loaf of bread, but I am busy. The other days, it's… Continue reading Oatmeal Bread

Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Garlic Growing Revisited: Tips from a Lazy Homesteader

I have mentioned before how bad this year (2023) was for growing garlic. It was a couple things for us I feel. The long, cold spring into early summer didn't help. So lets get to the backstory first. Garlic is always a 2 year project for nearly everyone growing it. You plant the "seed" in… Continue reading Garlic Growing Revisited: Tips from a Lazy Homesteader

Homesteading

The Downtime Prepper: National Preparedness Month

Before the Covid dumpster fire years, prepping for me was about gaining life skills. We had had years of life to do it in, with no real feeling of impending doom. We were truly prepping for natural disasters. I have lived through a couple of those, including living in the flood plains of a volcanic… Continue reading The Downtime Prepper: National Preparedness Month